Most of the Uruguayan capitals charm lies in the heart of the Ciuad Vieja, the historical old town where some of the city's history can still be seen in the colonial architecture.

Set in the middle of the Old Town is the cities diamond, the Mercado del Puerto, a massive warehouse converted into loads of stylish Parrillas (steakhouses), a vegetarians worst nightmare but a carnivores feast! The smell of meat hits you as soon as you walk through the doors and every restaurant welcomes you with a massive on show BBQ full of every cut of meat imaginable. It was difficult to choose one but we were convinced with a glass of Medio y Medio, white wine mixed with fruit juice. The size of the meat was obscene but oh so delicious and went down beautifully with a bottle of our new favourite, Medio.

We needed a walk to digest and took a stroll along the ocean promenade. We were surprised to see hundreds of people making their way to the main city beach and were confused when we noticed people heading into the ocean fully dressed. On a closer look we realised that a cultural ritual was taking place and later on found out that it was the Festival of Lemanja (festival of the Goddess of the Sea). The locals were sending home made small boats coloured in the traditional blue and white into the sea with various offerings upon them. Although we didn't fully understand what we had stumbled across at the time it felt pretty special to witness such an event.